warden
by bobdresden
Summary: warden
1. Chapter 1

-1 One: the explosion

I hate fire. Have you ever seen a plain catch fire right after landing? I have that's how I got to where I am not in a burning plain trying to save everyone I can. And know for ones it wasn't my fault that it was on fire. Now I know what you're thinking "well if it wasn't your fault then why were you there?" Here's what happened. I was waiting for someone to kill.

That's my job, I'm a warden for the white council I hunt down all who break any of the 7 laws of magic or endanger other wizards or mortals with magic. Which in short means I kill people before they kill other people. That's why I was here to kill some old man named Slade never heard of him never wanted to and now that I have I'm in a burning plain.

I'd seen him in the airport, standing next to a lovely young girl with remarkably black hair; she looked familiar like I had seen her on TV or something. I went after him, and pulled my daggers out, with only a vague awareness of a plain landing on the lane nearest the observation deck I was on. I heard it skid _what happened to the wheels _I thought to me suddenly more interested in the plain than the old man. It bounced, slid, bounced again then suddenly caught fire and there was a loud explosion.

And suddenly I was going toured the plain and putting away my daggers trying to save as many people as I could. So many things were going through my head at the time I could only single one thought out _why does this always happen to me?_ But I was wrong something like this had never happened to me, something like this had never haunted my memory, but it does every moment of the now.

I have faced death many times, it's my job after all, but it was always my death and the deaths of those who really needed to die so others could live. Hell I've even seen innocents killed. But this was something else.

The shear pain of it the despair of so much senseless death was unbelievable. I remember three things after I got in the plain the bodies and face of all the victims some beyond recognizably human. I remember the same girl with perfect black hair that I saw standing near the old man Slade, holding a little girl the only survivor I could find. And I remember thinking that just like wizard site and soul gazes this would always be etched in my memory.


	2. Chapter 2

Two: wave's good bye

I got off the plane and it exploded again. The explosion knocked me down and I didn't bother to get up, it felt like I didn't have sufficient energy to live much less get up, so why try? I just lay there on the ground. They must have thought I was dead because the left me there for what seemed like hours. I remember some things from when I was on the ground too. A little green boy with fangs, another teen with a mask and a red cape that was obviously in charge, and that same black hair girl still holding the child from the plane, she was collapsed in a very similar manner to the way I was but I don't think she saw me.

What looked like her friends were huddled around her wandering if she was ok. She was crying maybe I was too I don't remember. I couldn't help but think that she was beautiful I would like to meet her on better terms some day.

People moved around me for a long time but they must have figured out that I was alive because the next thing I remember I was in an ambulance they said I had a miner concussion and could go home the following day if all went as planned it did I went home and showered but no matter how many times I did I could not feel clean, Could not get the death off me. I had nightmares every night I would get up with my daggers in hand ready for a fight.

I had to keep looking for Slade because that was my job at least that occupied the time. I still didn't know why the wardens would want him he did not seem like a wizard to me, and if the wardens wanted a mortal that means he is one really bad dude. Finally I got some entail that he was going to a consort on Halloween night. I had to be there.

When I got there the place was pretty fool so I picked a seat near the back so I could see the door and waited. Then the band went up and it was the girl with black hair and the other kids I had seen her with she was way prettier than she had been at the plane but that isn't very hard, considering.

They shuffled around on stage for a few minutes, getting ready. Then the consort started, "_Hello again, friend of a friend…" _I never heard the song before, but it sounded nice, and the girl had a damn good voice. They played a few more songs none of which I knew. But that is not surprising, as a wizard I can't go near technology and therefore the latest music.

After the set was over everyone started yelling for encores but the band went back stage. I sat for a minute then went out to where the band parked. I had seen the girl with Slade at airport, and in the plane before it went up in smoke, and now she was at the concert that I had Intel he was at. I had to talk to this girl and see if she knew anything.

I was on my way to her car to wait for her when I saw him talking to her outside her car. He said something that seemed to make her happy like he was flirting, then he said something else and walked away. I would talk to her later this could be last chance to kill him.

"Slade!" he hesitated for a second; that was enough to let me know it was him. I went after him and he turned down an ally _how predictable._

I turned down the alley and he was standing there. "What do you want from me?" he asked in an odd voice like he was amused and annoyed at the same time. "Were you sent to kill me?" well at least I did didn't have to beat around the bush.

"Yes" I said wile drawing my daggers. I didn't want to go hand to hand to this guy I was going to use magic. Evocation to be exact, attack magic, hard to do but if you do it right it can be formidable in a fight. "Geoce" I yelled; Earth magic; hard to do, and harder to stop. With the magic I sent out a wave of earth ten feet high.

He jumped over it.

_Holy shit _was just about the only thought that I could get through my mind before he kicked me in the chest, out of the ally and across the street where I promptly hit the building there. Dazed and bloodied I saw Slade walk out of the ally and wave good bye at the black hair girl as she drove by.

_Damn what is this g_uy was the extent of my thought as he walked over to me. When he got there I wasn't even sure if I was awake or having some bizarre nightmare. He bent down and put his hand on my shoulder like we were the best of friends, and said "the next time you come in between me what I want I will kill you, that's if you survive this time" then he held up a syringe, squirted some of the clear fluid out to see if it was in there, then plunged it in my shoulder. The last thing I remember is him saying something like "we are going to have so much fun" and then my eyes started to close and I fell into darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

When I woke up I was in a pile of shit and muck in the jump city sewer, and dear god did it smell – like shit as a matter of fact. It took almost an hour to work my way over to the shelf of the sewer and get out of the shit. Then twenty minutes to find the nearest manhole, plus another hour and forty to the cab driver to get home.

After I got home I was torn between dropping on the floor and stay there till I died of starvation, or taking a shower and staying there till I died of starvation. Either way I was staying still until I died of starvation. I decided to go with the shower because I smelled like shit and I didn't want the people who find my body to pass out from the smell – that's me always the people person.

I turned the water as hot as I could go and got in with my clothes on and stayed that way for a while. I didn't even bother keeping the cloak I just threw it out the window it the dumpster below. Damn it felt good to be free of the forty pounds of gadgets and weapons that I keep under my cloak.

I got out of the shower when the water got cold, and I already felt better, I lied down on the bed and fell asleep. And I dreamed.

I was standing in the forest near where I grew up. This is where I found out I was a wizard, where I mastered my skills. Where everything good about my otherwise crappie childhood happened and where I was when I dreamed.

There was laughter off to the left, it sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. It was a girl's laugh; you could tell she was pretty.

I turned to look and saw black hair turning around a tree – ok it's just in my nature – and followed after it. There was another laugh and as I turned the tree I saw the same hair. _Where have I seen that hair? _

I kept running and running and running after the laughing girl. I followed her around another corner and saw her disappear in to a pond. I stopped; I have a fear of water well drowning actually. The point is that I was not going in the water, period. "You're not giving up so easily, Thomas?" That lovely laughing girl's voice. _Where have I heard that voice? _"Oh Thomas you know me just come in the lake."

_No, no, no way in hell am I going into that lake, EVER! _

"Oh don't ever say never." Said the lovely laughing voice still giggling under the words. "Now you must get over your fear or you can never beat Slade and save the girl you seem to be falling in love with."

_That's it._ "You're the girl." I kind of screamed rather than said. "Why are you here?"

"Because you have to learn your weakness to live, but that is your journey to take, now look in the water you don't have to get in I promise."

"Fine." _This is stupid_ "Why?" _This is stupid._

"You must see your reflection to see you weakness." Said the girl's voice.

"Okay, but first who are you really?" Oh boy I hope this didn't turn out to be a bad question.

The voice changed still giggling but now it was deeper like the voice of a woman rather than a girl's. "I am here to help, that is all." Okay, I might just be paranoid but when people say that to me 'I am here to kill you, that is all.'

"No you're not." I said then an idea came to mind. "And how did you get in my head?"

"I am here to help, now look in the water." The voice never stopped giggling. "Or I will push you in."

_Oh shit._ "Fine." I walked up and looked in there was nothing there then the water blurred and I appeared standing with my daggers at the ready guarding something behind me, but the image was blurred then it was the girl with the shiny black hair and beautiful eyes. The image of the girl changed to a picture of the city, then again to a group of people, the girls team. Then the picture changed all together this time I was fighting with people, but not protecting anything I was fighting the girl her team and Slade.

"Do you see your weakness young Warden?" Came the voice of the dream woman. "Your strength comes from those you protect, but Slade is very swiftly becoming a friend of theirs and will soon turn them against you and you will die because you will not kill the girl and her friends, move swiftly make the girl feel of you as you feel of her and you can concur Slade if not you will die, and remember you and Slade have more than one thing in common." She said like it was fact.

"Listen I have nothing in-"I started to say but she cut me off.

"That is why you must also concur your fear to concur his." she said in the same giggly voice just before she pushed me in the water.

I woke up In a cold sweat, "fucking bitch" – I hate water. I had to go out get away from that damn dream. I want for a walk, in full warden gear – that's me always ready for a fight. I was agitated – scared – and when you're a wizard in a tech. filled city, that's a bad thing. As I walk past, store displays would go hey wire, street lights would flicker out. And if that wasn't enough to make people stare – which I was – the giant cloak really got them too.

I got tired of being stared at and decided to go to the park where it was quieter, and less crowded. When I got there, there were a few people walking around joggers, kids hanging out, even at this hour I was surprised there were so few people there, and decided it was a good thing. I sat on a bench looking out over the bay, framed as if to face a strange giant T sitting out there in the sound like a beacon.

I sat there for a long time, when out of nowhere "Sir Warden, is there something I need to know?" it was a small voice and not at all threatening, but it is really hard to sneak up on thme so it was followed very shortly by "oh shit" and a picture of me jumping off the bench and losing my balance. After I composed myself I turned and looked back at who it was. The girl from the airport, standing right in front of me, shifting seemingly in the cold.

There was a long awkward silence, but eventually I couldn't take and said the first thing that came to my mind "No, I live near here actually, just thought I would take a walk. Why do you ask?"

She sighed heavily and turned downtrodden eyes to the ground, and sat on the bench before she said "Well, it's just Wardens have a tendency to show up right after unfortunate things happen… and with the recent explosion of an international airliner…" she paused for a moment as if thinking about horrors long past "I figured it maybe had to do with the Red Court's war…" the stopped again but this time did not finish the thought, instead changing the subject "Please forgive my rudeness. My name is Satsuki Saiyuri." She expends her hand for him to shake. "I am an Elemental Avatar and a born member of the Unseelie Court system. If you don't believe me, I can produce my identification on both fronts." I took her hand and shook it softly.

I laughed, and shook my head a little because I had forgotten that she didn't see me in the plain the way I saw her "No need, I trust you based on the knowledge of current events alone." She just stared at him for a second, but pulled away just as I started to feel the pull of a soul gaze.

When you look someone in the eye you get to see a part of them, the real them, if only for a second. For a wizard it's like that a thousand fold, when you look me in the eye I can see your soul, but the catch is you can see mine right back, and what you see can never be unseen. The fact the she looked away told me she was smart.

"I'm sorry, I never asked your name, sir Warden." She looked back up at his face, and sounded like she really wanted to change the subject.

"Well it is Thomas. Kind of boring next to someone with your name, but what can I say about that?" I said.

She thought about that for a minute "Thomas… I like it." She said then looked like she was practicing it again.

There was another one of those long silences that I can't stand so I changed the subject again "To answer your question I've been living in Jump for about a year now, it was designated my hub for Warden meetings when the Council is in our neck of the woods."

She nodded slowly and said "Thank goodness that's few and far between. Don't they usually meet in Chicago on the worst of occasions?"

It was my turn to nod "Yes, with Warden Dresden. You're right, some of the worst things happen in that area and usually include him." I huffed a little, my turn to remember horrors past too.

"I know how you feel, I haven't been back myself. Were you there for the werewolf problem?" she asked like she was, and from the look she had I was willing to believe it was true.

I shook my head and said "No, I was there for the zombie attack about a year ago. I still have nightmares."

She finally turns to look at me. "I heard about that from an old friend in the Spirit world. Is it true that a group of Necromancers battled it out for an old master's book?" I sighed and she acted like that was an answer and said "What nonsense. You can't hope to rule a world where you kill everyone in it, seems rather boring." She had a tired tone and I couldn't stop from looking at her. "Think about, what good is a world if you have no one to talk to. I know those kinds of monsters love their privacy, but there has to be a sort of communication with other living, breathing people in order for them to keep any shred of sanity they may ever had." We kept staring at each other until she shrugged and turned away.

She looked at her watch and laughed "That's what I get for sitting too long with a wizard…" and I realized I was broken before she said, "That's what I get for buying digital I suppose."

She gave a laugh laced sigh as the silence crept in once more. She looked up to the stars shining brightly overhead, the twinkling lights gave the night a sense of calm. "I should get home. It was lovely to meet you Mr. Thomas, it was fun talking to someone who understands what it's truly like in this world of ours. Please, be safe in your missions. If you need me…" She runs a finger through her hair and pulls away with a business card with her phone number and that damn Ton it. "You can contact me at this number, day or night." and handed it to me with a smile.

I took her hand and kissed it before I said "Thank you, and goodnight Madam Avatar." And after I said it I felt like an idiot. But still as we both walked away I still felt better.

I was in the store a couple of days later still feeling pretty good about myself. I had trouble not thinking about her, in fact I was going to call her any minute and ask her out to my apartment, for dinner – and no it's not like that I'm just strapped for cash lately, and it's cheaper to cook dinner than to buy – that's why I was at the store, but after I got out I got an even more interesting – if not happy – surprise.

Right in front of me was Slade, holding a long bow-staff. He said some stupid banter, but I wasn't listening, and just said automatic comebacks. I was busy trying to work out tells and strategies.

He came at me quick but I was ready and, made a stop gesture with my hand and muttered "murus terrae" making an eight foot wall come up in between me and my enemy. He stopped in front of the wall and said "Interesting… Didn't you learn from the last time that your magic wouldn't help you against me?"and jumped over it, didn't run, didn't climb, just jumped from a dead standstill. In my experience people – humans anyway – shouldn't be able to do that. He used one of the spikes on the wall for leverage for his attack, and caught me by surprise. I just barely managed to and his swing was so strong that it broke my wrist, causing me to drop my dagger, but he stumbled when he landed and I got his thigh with the sharp edge of my remaining dagger.

We were both injured, and fighting poorly. With his hip hurt he couldn't get any leverage for a good hit, and with my wrist broken I could only barely block those till finally he lost his balance leaving his chest wide open. So I took the chance and was repaid with a double egged sword – figuratively. It worked I open a long painful wound on his chest and stomach, but he managed to get me in the back breaking several ribs.

We both stumbled away from each other stunned and wounded, but I couldn't leave my back open and did the only thing I could think of, fell to my knees so my hands were touching the ground – and because it was hard to stand – and muttered "asylum terram"

I looked and saw Slade running away just before the dome of earth I made blocked my view.

I sat under there for a long time, in my little sanctuary. I sat there and thought about a lot of thing, mostly Satsuki. And Slade "how could he beat me?'. Mostly I sat there moping and nursing my wounds. Till suddenly there was a loud crashing sound like an explosion, and my sanctuary started cracking down the middle "shit, what now…"

To be continued


End file.
